The subject disclosure relates to the art of portable weighing scales and, more particularly, to adjustable weighing scales that can be transformed between at least one of a collapsed configuration or a normal-width configuration and an extended-width configuration.
Collapsible scales have been provided heretofore and, generally, take the form of folding scales which seem to most often trade width for height providing no significant advantage with regard to portability over comparably sized non-folding scales. For example, in Schmidt, U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,065, the scale can be folded up into one-quarter its original width. However, in doing so, the original thickness is quadrupled. As such, the overall reduction in volume is minimal and the corresponding benefit, with regard to portability, is significantly reduced.
Other collapsible scales, that provide a significant reduction in volume when in compact or collapsed form, are shown in Hulburt, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,337,446 (Hulburt '446 hereinafter). However, these scales, too, have certain disadvantages. In particular, the scales disclosed in Hulburt can be complicated or inconvenient to deploy from a compact or collapsed arrangement. Often, these scales require multiple steps to expand from the compact configuration to an extended configuration suitable for use as a weighing scale.
One disadvantage of known collapsible scales is that the same are generally incapable of deployment into two or more usable width configurations. That is, known collapsible scales are typically displaced between a collapsed or storage condition in which the scale is generally unusable, and a deployed or usable condition that is often approximately the same a full-sized scale, such as a typical bathroom scale, for example. However, known collapsible scales are not typically configurable into an extended width that is significantly greater than the normal or full-width condition.
As such, it is considered desirable to develop new and improved adjustable scales that are usable in both a normal or full-width configuration as well as in an extended-width configuration. Additionally, it is considered desirable to develop new and improved adjustable scales that can optionally be arranged into a collapsed or storage configuration in addition to the full-width and extended-width configurations.